Gloucestershire still 'disappointed' at Northants abandonment as they avoid disciplinary action

Umpires Chris Watts and Sue Redfern stopped play on the hybrid pitch on safety grounds in the final session of the opening day of the division two clash on August 29.

The decision came after Northants pair Ricardo Vasconcelos and Rob Keogh both retired hurt after being struck on the hand by Gloucestershire fast bowler Ajeet Singh Dale, with Vasconcelos suffering a fractured hand.

The County were in good shape at 116 for two in reply Gloucestershire's 125 all out when the match was was stalled and then later abandoned after discussions with match referee Jason Swift and ECB pitch inspectors at Lord’s.

The independent Cricket Regulator visited Bristol the following day, and then announced on Wednesday it was 'satisfied that Gloucestershire have demonstrated that they sought to prepare the best quality pitch that they could'.

But they also backed the decision to call the game off, stating 'the bounce was significantly uneven and dangerous to the players'.

At the time, the game was declared a draw with Northants taking 11 points and Gloucestershire none, but the lack of sanctions means Gloucestershire will now not lose points or face any potential financial penalty.

The investigation saw match officials, captains, coaches, and ground staff interviewed, in addition to a review of the live stream video and an expert technical report.

A Cricket Regulator statement said they were 'satisfied, as a result of those enquiries, that the bounce was significantly uneven and dangerous to the players... the cricket regulator therefore fully supports the decisions taken by the match officials to abandon the match in the circumstances."

But the club announced a statement in response to the decision and made it clear they were 'disappointed' at the decision to call off the match.

The statement read: "Gloucestershire is pleased the Cricket Regulator has decided not to charge the club with the alleged breach of the pitch regulations and in its findings…

"While the club accepts the Regulator’s findings, we remain disappointed at the match officials’ decision to abandon the match.

"The club has been significantly punished by the inability to compete for points in the match, suffering reputational damage and loss of matchday earnings in the process.

"Prior to the match we still retained hopes of challenging for promotion to division one.

"As with the preparation of all pitches at the Seat Unique Stadium, Gloucestershire’s groundstaff do so at all times with the intention of creating a fair balance between bat and ball, irrespective of the opposition.

"As the Regulator points out in its findings, the groundstaff 'prepared the pitch as they had done previously' for a County Championship match against Middlesex earlier in the season, played on the same hybrid pitch which was rated as ‘good’.

"The Regulator goes on to say the pitch prepared against Northamptonshire 'appeared to be of the same standard as previously prepared ‘good’ pitches'.

"In light of these comments, Gloucestershire looks forward to a dialogue with the Regulator on what more could have been done by the club to, as the Regulator suggests, 'ensure that the pitch performed better than it did'.

"The club will willingly engage with the ECB with regards to the preparation of pitches as recommended by the Regulator, and further, hopes the ECB will continue to engage with not just Gloucestershire, but all counties, on the preparation of hybrid pitches."

At the time, the then head coach of Northants John Sadler said of the surface: "It was not a good pitch. It was uneven, it was bouncing off a length when it shouldn't do.

"Gloucester have two big quick bowlers who hit the pitch hard, and if this pitch could get worse then that is what the umpires have to take into consideration as well. It wasn't good.

"It's the umpires' call, it is the umpires' decision, and I am not going to challenge them or anything like that, they have a job to do.”